The Stony Brook Seawolves football team was defeated by the Robert Morris Colonials by a score of 21-6. The loss moved the two teams into a tie once again for the top record in the Northeast Conference. The game was played in terrible weather conditions, with strong winds, a wet field, and a fourth-quarter downpour.
Robert Morris struck first, with a 20 yard run by Brian Harden, to put the Colonials up 7-0. On the next possession, Stony Brook responded with a 48 yard pass from Josh Dudash to Lynell Suggs. However, Matt Weeks missed the PAT, and the Colonials retained the lead, 7-6. Along the way, Stony Brook had picked up their what would be their only fourth-down in 5 attempts, following a fake punt. Head Coach Chuck Priore said he was ‘scared’ after calling that play.
Turnovers played a huge role in the outcome of the game. Robert Morris had a fumble lost and an interception, while SBU had 2 lost fumbles, 2 interceptions, and 4 turnovers on downs. Stony Brook’s offense had a rough day as well, having committed 3 of the turnovers. Dudash completed 18 out of 36 passes, for 190 yards. Their special teams especially struggled. Aside from the missed field goal by Weeks, they averaged about 3 fewer yards per punt than Robert Morris, and about 7 fewer per kickoff.
Later in the second quarter, Priore chose not to punt on a fourth down at the RMU 36. The pass to Cosentino was incomplete. Priore said that the call was made in part because the wind would be against the Colonials. On the ensuing drive, Robert Morris would pick up another touchdown, on a 1-yard run from Vince Magnone. The score would remain 14-6 going into halftime.
In the second half, Stony Brook seemed to have a sense of urgency, but they were unable to convert that into points. They also botched a punt return in which Stony Brook returner Dwayne Eley touched the ball, but didn’t hold it. The Colonials’ Jarvis Powers grabbed and downed the fumbled ball. That entire play seemed to be heading for trouble from the beginning, as the Seawolves were changing lines while Robert Morris was lining up to punt the ball, apparently due to some confusion about when a Colonial timeout would end.
The Seawolves were unable to crack into Colonial territory, and Robert Morris was able to put up another touchdown to make it 21-6. Throughout the rest of the game, the Seawolves played desperately, often choosing not to punt on fourth down. An intercepted pass from Dudash late in the fourth would seal their fate.
Dudash wouldn’t make excuses about the loss, saying that ‘we made a lot of mistakes,’ and adding that throwing into the wind ‘wasn’t a big deal.’ Priore said he ‘knew it would be tough,’ and reiterated that mistakes were their undoing. About the loss, he also said, rather philosophically, ‘Lightning bolts are critical in life and this lightning bolt will help us, meaning the shock of losing when you expect to win. You learn more from losing than winning if you handle it correctly and we will handle it correctly.’
With the loss, Stony Brook drops to 4-1 in conference play, and Robert Morris improves to 4-1. Monmouth and Albany both won, so the four teams are tied for first in the conference. Stony Brook’s next game is at Wagner, which is winless in conference play. Kickoff is at 1PM, and the game can be heard on 90.1FM, WUSB.
